I did a few searches, but did not find one...

If there isn't one, how about we start one here?? :D I'm looking for any tried and true methods for cutting down expenses.

We have an electric water heater, and in an effort to cut down on an insane electric bill I have been keeping it off most of the time. The breaker box is easy to get to, so I just switch it on once a day (sometimes twice if I end up needing more hot water to wash linens, run baths, etc.) This keeps the tank from firing up several times a day and also helps me to be mindful of our hot water usage.

I stopped using our electric clothes dryer completely. I have two clothes lines that I can put up near the woodstove, and not only do things dry in less than an hour, it also adds moisture to the air. In the warm months, we dry everything out on the line.

We also drink coffee, and instead of letting it sit on the warmer (which uses more electricity that it would seem) we bought a thermal carafe to pour the coffee into once it's been brewed.

We buy in bulk when we can. Isn't it amazing that 5 pounds of potatoes can be $3.50 and 10 pounds is like $5.00? 5 ponds of sunflower seeds for the birds runs $2.50 and 50 ponuds is $13.99?

In an effort to reduce our monthly bills, we're planning on moving out to our property for the warmer months and camping out. Any extra money is going to go into building a small structure to live in before next Winter. If all goes according to plans, we will have some sort of hydropower generator or solar power and will not be shafted by the electric company anymore.

Please share your best $ saving tips!! :D

I have gotten lots of good ideas from this board, but I don't think there's "one big post." I've gathered ideas from different posts over YEARS now!

I don't know that any of these ideas are new to you, but the ones that seem to make a difference for us are:

use less laundry det., shampoo, etc. than is called for on the bottle

cloth everything! I use cloth tp when I pee (TMI???) DH doesn't even know about it...it would be too much for him...I also use cloth on my 3-year old now that he's training. It's easy, of course, while we're still cloth diapering and have a diaper pail.

change furnace filters once a month, especially if you have pets

clotheslines

cook from scratch

install low-flow faucets, use bath water/shower water collected in bucket for flushing toilets, laundry, etc.

buy in bulk/co-ops/sales/coupons/pricebook

I know there's more, but I have to go...

i only have a second, but a garden on your land would be a great way to save-- seeds are very very cheap. You can probably rent a tiller somewhere locally, or pay someone with a tractor to come tuurn the dirt for you. Either of those should be 50.00 or less, and think about how much produce you can grow! Somethign else to consider is planting a large garden and selling at the farmers market this spring/summer. If you feel that you are way too inexperienced for any of the above, try and find a CSA in your area, often they will let you work for your share, and then you will gain experience and be able to do your own garden next year!

heather

Shop at discount food stores like Aldi and Save A Lot
Buy clothing at thrift store
Drop your theromstate by a couple degrees and put on a sweatshirt
Install water saving shower heads
Drying things on a drying rack or outside on the line.
Limit monthly reaccuring bills - no cell phone, no cable, no paper, etc.
Cloth dipes - even part time
Cloth mama pads - so deliciously comfy
Cheap dates - picnic at the park, free video from library, bake a pie together
Trade babysitting with a girlfriend
Recycle and compost to eliminate weekly garbage man

What a great thread! I love tips like this--
Meeshi---what a beautiful daughter you have!

Make your own Laundry detergent
Recipe #1

3 Pints Water
1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 Gallon Bucket
1 Quart Hot Water
Hot Water

Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints of water, and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 Gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.


------------------------------------------------------------


Recipe #2

1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 Tablespoons Glycerin
2 Cups Water

Mix all three ingredients together. Add glycerin and water.
Use 1/2 - 3/4 cup per load. Best when used with cold or warm water.


------------------------------------------------------------


Recipe #3

Water
1 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated
5 Gallon Bucket
1 Cup Washing Soda
4 1/2 Gallons Hot Water

Place grated soap in a small saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill bucket with hot water, and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing soda and mix well. As it cools it will thicken. May be used immediately. Use 1-2 cups per load.


------------------------------------------------------------


Powdered Laundry Detergent


1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax

For light load, use 1 tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons.
http://p069.ezboard.com/fthefrugalshopperfrm65.showMessage?topicID=16.topi c

The Soap doesnt have to be Fels Naptha, i use a mix of Octagon and Ivory in mine. Even homemade soaps work great.

Here is a Cost Comparison between store bought and homemade detergent:

Fels Naptha $1.05
Washing Soda $2.19
Borax $3.49


Fels Naptha 1 bar / 3 batches $0.350
Washing Soda 5 cups / 10 batches $0.219
Borax 8 cups /16 batches $0.218
Total Cost Per Two-Gallon Batch $0.787

2 Gallons = 128 ounces. 1/2 cup = 4 ounces.
64 loads per 2 gallons. $0.012 per load. (1.2 cents)

I was paying $6 for 100 ounces of laundry detergent.
25 loads for $0.24 per load.

20 x .012 = .24. So, store bought cost 20 times as much as homemade. I won't be buying store bought again!

http://pub157.ezboard.com/fthefrugalshopperfrm65.showMessage?topicID=76.topi c

I make my own detergent, and add just enough tide to tinge the liquid soap slightly blue, which keeps it from seperating on me.

You can use a little vinegar in your final wash cycle to act as a fabric softener, although line dried clothes i have heard smell a little weird according to some people when doing this. I haven't ever tried it so i am not sure. I bought Snuggle Dryer Sheets when they were on closeout from a store with coupons that made like 300 sheet boxes $1.50 or so. I still have several left, and i have been using on them for years. I use a dryersheet more then once, and save the sheets and tie them to hangers or put them in drawers to make the clothes smell like they were just dried all the time.

Make your own soap.
This is one thing i would soon like to start trying!!
http://www.witch-crafted.com/soap.htm
http://www.soapdelicatessen.com/soapmaking/instructions/

There are also liquid soap recipes which you can use to make shamoo.You can make soaps that are great for men to shave with too. By using just Soy Oil you could possibly make a HUGE batch of soap for under $5, that would give you 30-40 bars of 4oz. soap.

Also with this one you can make different smells and colors, you could even sell them for a little extra cash. For a 4oz. of handmade soap its going for $4+, and it doesn't cost that much to produce.

Cloth is a great thing.
I use old underware as rags to clean with. Once they get holes into the rag pile they go. If you sew old clothes can become new clothes. Pants or jeans with rips in the knees can become capri's or shorts or even skirts!. The bottoms where they are still good can become a purse or bag. Old shirts can have a skirt sown on and become Pj's.

If you do decide to have a garden. In some areas potatoes grow VERY well. Can veggies for winter. Buy a bushel or 1/2 or 1/4 if possible of fruits as they come into season and can them. If you happen to have an apple orchard around, you might ask if you can pick apples left on the trees. I know we found a tree when i lived with my mother on a vacant over grown peice of land, we went and picked about half the apples from the tree as far as we could reach. The rest the deer got. Depending on where you are and how much land you have planting a few fruit trees for future use could be a great thing, although picking varieties that are hardy around where you are is best.

Great tips so far, ladies!

I wanted to add that since I started to really conserve hot water and only fire up the tank once a day, our electric bill dropped $40 a month!! :eek:

We use Kaya's old prefolds as rags in the house. We rarely use paper towels at all, but we do still have a rolll on hand at all times. We use cloth napkins, they are so pretty!
Thanks for the recipes for the detergents, I will have to try that!

I wash my hair with baking soda and vinegar, J washed his dreads with bar soap and I only wash the girls hair once a week (sometimes less for Kaya) so we use very little shampoo.

I usually end up trading for WAHM soap, and I don't use cosmetics of any kind.

For household cleaning, I usually use baking soda or vinegar or tea tree oil, and of course *elbow grease*.

Mamatosage, thanks for the compliment! Your little one is a cutie too!
Keep those tips coming!! :D

Grape Seed Extract is also a great anti bacterial, anti microbial, ect. When you get it it is SUPER concentrated so a few drops in a gallon of water goes a LONG LONG way. I got one bottle and i have been using it for well over a year, and i use it quite often. It was i believe $4 for the small bottle, and it seems to last forever!! Much less expensive then Tea Tree Oil, and it has no real odor that i have noticed. When you taste it you definately know what it is though PHEW it's got a strong bitter taste even severly deluted. I use a few drops in my water to clean with, a few drops in the dish water when anyone in the house is sick, a few drops in the water to clean animal cages and litter boxes, a drop to clean out the animals water bowls. I also use it in my kitten formula recipe, since it calls for raw eggs. I have 2 healthy kittens who were raised on that formula.

It is safe in diluted amounts you would need even if a child would drink the cleaning water accidentally, or lick or what not where you just cleaned. GSE is often used as a food perservative.

People use it for TONS of reasons. A Friend of mine posted a link to this site in another forum and its a pretty good read, although your GSE might be a different concetration it gives you an idea. http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/grapefr.php

On my bottle there are instructions for an actual drink of GSE, for some property it has something about "oxialic" or something properties .

Hmmm, we do a lot of what has been mentioned on this thread, already. What do I have to add?

Live somewhere warm - you need fewer clothes. ;) LOL Seriously, we spend so much less on shoes and outerwear here, it's amazing.

For laundry detergent, I buy Ultra Plus at Sears in a big bucket (powdered). It's $24.97 for 275 loads. I use half of what is called for - it has a small scoop and you are supposed to use one per load, I use 1/2 scoop. That bucket lasts me almost 18 months!!! I believe that would rival or beat homemade laundry soap. ;) It cleans well. I use the Stain Fighting Formula but they have a fabric softening one, a color-safe bleach one, and maybe another one I'm forgetting? It's near the hardware/camping stuff at my Sears. Look out, it is one HEAVY bucket. We are also sensitive to overscented detergents and at least the stain-fighting one doesn't bother us. It has a light lemony-orange scent.

I am tired...fighting illness. I'll post more when I think of them!

For laundry detergent, I buy Ultra Plus at Sears in a big bucket (powdered). It's $24.97 for 275 loads.



Sometimes they go on sale for $9.95


I personally haven't bought laundry detergent for more than the cost of tax for awhile. Gotta love coupons and small sizes.

We have a time of usage plan here with our electric company. If we sign up to use our major electrical appliances (washer/dryer/dishwasher, etc.) during the set times we sign up for (usually the times when businesses aren't operating and/or use less electricity), our electric bill is severly reduced. We do pay a $2/month fee for this, but, we still save around $6-$12 a month using this (and we don't have an electric stove, water heater, or furnace either - just think of the savings we could have if we had these in electric). Also, for electric water heaters, our electric company has some kind of box that they put on the heater and they trigger the box during high electric times (air conditioning on a really hot day or electricity used on a really cold day). They activate this box from "central headquarters" and it shuts off the power to your water heater. They turn it back on when the "crisis" is over. I think they pay you about $6/month for this.

I think with food it really helps to think about the little things. Do we need black olives on our tacos, or can we save that 99 cents? Is the name brand worth $1 more than the store brand? Do you need quinoa at $2 a pound when brown rice is less than $1 a pound? Is it worth the effort to make my own bread when I can save $1 a loaf? Do my kids really need baby carrots, or can I save $1 by buying the larger carrots and cutting them myself? How many places can I save just $1? 25 little choices a week saves $100 a month.

Buying in season is a big money saver. I got organic navel oranges for 25 cents a pound today, because they are in season and were on special. Last week it was organic broccoli. When I can't get fresh organic veggies cheaply I go ahead and buy frozen organic veggies at Costco.

Am I using up everything I buy? This is an issue of finances as well as world hunger. Each week I take any limp veggies and make stock. As I've gotten better at estimating our food needs I've found I have fewer leftover veggies and often have to freeze them for a couple of weeks until I have enough.

A couple of months ago I posted how to eat really cheaply for the short term:

Staples to buy in bulk:

Beans
Brown rice
Flour or wheat berries if you have a grinder
Corn meal
Yeast
Lentils
Corn tortillas (I buy 100 for under $3 and they keep over a month in the refrigerator)
Oatmeal
White sugar
Vegetable oil

Produce:

Cabbage
Onions
Potatoes
Carrots
Cheapest fruit you can find, no more than 25 cents a serving
-or- canned pineapple in juice

Other:

Vegan margarine
Salt/Pepper
Crushed garlic (a $2 jar lasts a long time)
Cheapest salsa you can find; usually a canned Mexican variety
Vinegar
Tahini

Find a good, simple bread recipe that doesn’t call for honey, buttermilk, or other expensive ingredients. Leave out the milk. Make daily for toast and to eat with soup. You can also make pita bread.

Lunches and Dinners:

Cabbage salad
Sauted or roasted carrots, onions, and potatoes
Tacos with beans, rice, and cabbage
Creamy Potato soup
Basic vegetable soup
Lentil soup
Lentils and rice
Lentils and cabbage
Sauted cabbage and carrots over rice
Bean soup (mine is pinto beans, garlic, and salt; DH adds salsa)
Polenta with beans
Tostadas

Breakfasts:

Fresh bread, plain
Bread, toasted
Oatmeal
Rice porridge
Cornmeal mush

Peace,

Kimberly

Thanks for the tip on the sale, Amy. I don't clip coupons and I don't go shopping at all very often...I happened to get my first bucket of Ultra Plus on clearance and when I needed more, realizing how long the last bucket has lasted, I was happy to pay full price. :) I am never in the stores often enough to notice things like clearances and I think that's a good thing...if I pay too much attention to shopping I overspend more than the $15 I would have saved on the laundry detergent, yk?

Kimberly, that is a great list. Thank you for posting that, as I have been struggling with getting back to basics like that. Seems like we always think we "need" sour cream or guac, or cheese on our tacos - not so. We can eat very simply. (Though unfortunately I can't feed my son like that or he would wither away...he needs very calorie-dense foods due to the cystic fibrosis.)

Kimberly, that is a great list. Thank you for posting that, as I have been struggling with getting back to basics like that. Seems like we always think we "need" sour cream or guac, or cheese on our tacos - not so. We can eat very simply. (Though unfortunately I can't feed my son like that or he would wither away...he needs very calorie-dense foods due to the cystic fibrosis.)

That's a short term emergency eating plan, Lauren. My boys eat fish 3X a week and I often do splurge and buy them olives for their tacos. I realized today I should look for a bulk can of them at Costco and calculate the savings. For the most part though, my boys eat a high fiber/low fat vegetarian (no dairy, few eggs, and the fish) diet and it means they want to eat all of the time! Each meal holds them for maybe 2 hours and then they snack every hour until the next meal. They mostly snack on fruits and veggies which is one reason my grocery bill is higher than I would like.

So while I posted the meal plan, we only eat that way about 50% of the time.

Kimberly

I understood that. I didn't mean to sound snarky or anything. :) Just was sick and posting sort of off the cuff/out of my head unedited. I really do appreciate it...for me and Matt it is how we go back to basics when needed, which is now. Not to take this thread off topic - I'm just frustrated because I can't feed my whole family a basic vegetarian diet. I really can't. Jake needs 2x the calories of another kid his size. He would not be able to take in enough calories on a mostly veggie diet. It's really a great source of sadness for me because I would like him to eat that way. But when we were vegan, before he was diagnosed, he went downhill *very* quickly and it in fact precipitated his diagnosis. Anyway. I love the "tread lightly" ideas behind a very simple diet and your list was truly a great one for me!

Same to Amy...I more wanted to share that for me, not shopping sales or clipping coupons is a better way of saving money because I tend toward an unhealthy relationship with stores, LOL. If I ignore them until I really need something I do better. It is probably very different for different people, and if you can shop a lot and it allows you to be even more frugal, that is awesome.

People use it for TONS of reasons. A Friend of mine posted a link to this site in another forum and its a pretty good read, although your GSE might be a different concetration it gives you an idea. http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/grapefr.php

.

Oh, nice link! I've been wanting to use a GSE mouth rinse for my kids (who get way more cavities than they deserve - poor guys) - Patrick can only use the expensive HFS mouthwash with his sodium benzoate allergy. And then he spills $6 worth of that... So a drop of GSE in a capful of water will be a huge savings, with the same resulst as the fancy stuff. I might make an unsweetened mint tea and add GSE to make it taste better/more mouthwashy.

As for tips... I have a weird one - if you're in a Tyson area, see if your Tyson factory has a store. Ours does, and we can get boneless skinless breasts for $1/pound. Boneless skinless thighs are $8 for a 20 lb box. Heck, whatever your area produces, it might be available on the cheap if you buy factory direct.

I really THINK before I drive anywhere, and plan to make a few stops along the route. Leaving the house *much* less has cut my gas/car maintenance in half.

Once a month cooking is a great time and money saver for my family.

As for tips... I have a weird one - if you're in a Tyson area, see if your Tyson factory has a store. Ours does, and we can get boneless skinless breasts for $1/pound. Boneless skinless thighs are $8 for a 20 lb box. Heck, whatever your area produces, it might be available on the cheap if you buy factory direct.


OMG!! THAT'S a great one!! I hadn't thought of that. We live in one of those Tyson areas, although the #1 counties agricultural sales are in cattle followed by chicken and cotton!! Thats a great idea. Although i was going to look for a smaller chicken distributer, i still need to call them. $1 a pound is better then the $1.19 lb for whole chickens in the stores around here!!

If you are looking for some sort of mouth wash to keep teeth better you might want to also look into a vitamin source for floride and calcium, that helps with cavities as well. Of course some places add floride to their drinking water and store bought bread has that too, i think thats terribly wrong of them to add things like that to the water.

We have had great results (went from constant decay to totally stopped decay) with xylitol gum and mouthwash. You can get it in bulk from www.xlear.com. You can make your own mouth rinse/wash with the Xylisweet that they sell (it's basically bulk xylitol powder). It's also great for sinus infections; you make a rinse with it and use it in a nasal spray bottle or neti pot.

We have an electric water heater, and in an effort to cut down on an insane electric bill I have been keeping it off most of the time. The breaker box is easy to get to, so I just switch it on once a day (sometimes twice if I end up needing more hot water to wash linens, run baths, etc.) This keeps the tank from firing up several times a day and also helps me to be mindful of our hot water usage.

This may be costing you more $$$. Heating water from cold to hot costs more than just keeping warm water warm/hot. You are starting from scratch everytime. I would just turn the temp on the water heater down.

I don't think anyone mentioned bartering. I love to trade with others as a means of getting what our family needs without spending money. I trade services for services, goods for goods, or services for goods or vice versa.

Also, we are on a "budget plan" with our electric company, where we pay the same amount per month throughout the year. It adjusts slightly for usage, but it really helps us budget so we don't end up broke in the high-usage months. It doesn't save money per se but it makes our lives a lot easier.

We do eat meat, and what I do to save money is buy cheaply. So I will buy a whole turkey or turkey breast, whole chickens, or a pot roast. I use every bit of it, down to making stock from the bones. Soups are cheap and filling.

In tight times, I have sat down with our fixed bills and looked at where to cut. I have cut auto insurance down to the minimum required by law, cut health insurance down to a catastrophic plan, shopped for a new phone company or other way to save money there, gone to free Internet, etc. I have done this three times now in the past five years and every time I have found a new place to squeeze an extra bit of money each month. In less lean times I may change things around again depending on how much the cuts were hurting.

Eggs are a great, cheap source of high-quality protein that is often overlooked. A "breakfast dinner" is a good way to stretch a tight food budget through the week.

Self sefficancy is the best way i can think of to save money.. like having chickens and eating chicken and eggs. Chickens self produce themselves so you would never have to buy more chickens unless something bad happened.

I would love to live on a farm and have livestock, crops, and a huge garden. I would also LOVE to have a green house so we could have fresh homegrown tomatoes in the middle of winter. Plus I could sell the extra's just like the almish did where i used to live. They would make cheese, ice cream, butter, cakes and cookies and sell from their little stores which were often rooms from their houses. I admire the almish for their self sufficiant ways.

I not only would want to have livestock for food, but also a female alpaca, for the wool. Just one female alpaca to start( because of the sticker price ;pop: ), then get a good stud service. If she would have a female, then keep that one and then send out for stud then when one of them eventually had a boy, trade it for one or 2 girls from a different family. Then once i had a nice size herd, trade a boy for another boy that was not related to any of the alpacas. Then all of the new alpacas could be sold or start up another herd on a seperate field. I could sell the extra wool, and then eventually get an electric spinner, and sell the spun wool. I think i would start that way with any large live stock.

Chickens are different though you can buy them for $1.47 a peice here, so i would want to get 3 or 4 one of them being a rooster. Then they could replicate from there.


I don't know i guess i am getting into a dream world there. * sighs* I don't ever see me being able to afford a farm. Not to mention to make it as a farmer you have to be able to really over produce and sell almost all of what you produce to squeak by. I used to live around a bunch of farmers and times were always rough for them it seemed. I would still love that life though.

Well, like I said, our electric bill has gone down considerably (a $40 a month decrease)since we started doing this. Even if I crank it up in the morning, the water will still be warmish in the next AM. I think what was costing us so much is that the heater would click on 15 to 20 times a day to keep the water at a certain temp. I have a feeling that it is a very old heater, so maybe it was just running inefficiently??

and completely off topic ~ Tiffany, I can't believe how big and handsome your boys are!!! Seems like I haven't seen a pic of them in a loooong time! Such cute boys!! :D

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but I've heard it recommended before that a water heater blanket can make your heater more efficient and reduce costs. I haven't tried it myself so I can't say exactly what those savings would be though.

I don't know if they have a similar program in your state, but in California you can call the gas company and if you meet certain income guidelines they will install weatherstripping, shower heads, water heater blankets, new doors, air conditioner covers, sink aerators, repair or replace your furnace, and repair broken glass to make your home more energy efficient. It is all free.

Eating less meat, becoming a full or partial vegetarian saves us money. Safe, humanely killed meat is very costly, so it's swayed dh into eating less and less.....and more beans and other healthier protein sources without the risks or downsides of meat.

He still buys organic chicken and some salmon, but since we only buy safe and humane type, it limits how much we buy...meaning less money spent. :)

Baking all our breads, muffins, pretzels, bagels, cookies etc.. has saved us money. The more I eliminate the processed, the more I see our grocery bill go down.

and completely off topic ~ Tiffany, I can't believe how big and handsome your boys are!!! Seems like I haven't seen a pic of them in a loooong time! Such cute boys!! :D


awwww, thanks Meeshi!!! They really are growing sooooo fast!!! Your girls are as adorable as ever :)

I use baking soda instead of deodorant. It works better. Meeshi, how do you wash your hair with baking soda and vinegar. Do you rub it in dry then rinse with vinegar?

Thanks!!

I really like this thread. It motivates me to get on the ball!

A couple others I don't know if anyone has mentioned:

Unplug small appliances, especially stuff with lights or clocks that run when you're not using them.

wash clothes only when they're dirty

buy clothes used

I love to garage sale in the summer. It helps that around here, especially in the spring, there are lots of neighborhood garage sales, so I can drive one place and hit TONS of sales.

This may be costing you more $$$. Heating water from cold to hot costs more than just keeping warm water warm/hot. You are starting from scratch everytime. I would just turn the temp on the water heater down.

This would be true for say water standing with no insulation. However, most ho****er heaters are so insulated that they keep water hot (but often not to thermostat temp) for a very long time. I found this hard to believe until Hurricane Ivan came through. We had no power for 5 days. We still had hot water on day 4. Now, we had conserved a lot, heating most of the water on the stove (gas). But, if you do not use the hot water faucet while that hot water heater is off, the water will stay hot. It won't cool down enough not to notice a big difference on your bill. What kills you is using the hot while that heater is off. The water used is then replaced with cold and will be expensive to heat later on after is has cooled all the water.

i'm going to bump this up to read later :)